(Photo: Sergey Zolkin)
The Bible doesn’t include any verses that speak about online dating specifically, so two pastors from one of Ambo TV’s partnering churches have decided to address the matter for young adults navigating the popular phenomenon.
On Views From The Porch, the podcast of the young adult ministry at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas called The Porch, preachers Jonathan “J.P.” Pokluda and David Marvin shared their thoughts about Christians meeting one another online instead of in church.
J.P., leader of The Porch, admits “the Bible doesn’t say, ‘hey thou shalt not join match.com.’” However, he sees the benefit of meeting peers in church rather than strangers on a website who could be less than honest about their commitment to the kingdom of God.
“Somebody is going to say, ‘I’m a pastor at a church, I love serving widows and orphans, I just started an orphanage in Haiti, I spend my summers in Africa generating food programs and rescuing kittens from burning buildings. How do you know if any of that is true,” J.P. said on his podcast last week. “ .. And I don’t think you want the test to be, ‘well I’m going to go on a date with them and find out.’ That’s my problem with online dating.”
Marvin, the Young Adults Director of Programs, quoted Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:12 when he says, “Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial.” (AMP) He spoke about the importance of finding out which church people are serving at to see if they are like minded.
“If there are people that are plugged into a like minded church I would say I wouldn’t rule it off the table. I would be wise still where and when I would meet with that person,” he said. “But if they’re a covenant member at x church, that may give you some indication of the involvement in their life. But that’s a really really small slice of the pie.”
All dating websites are not created equal, but J.P. said he hopes that those looking for a spouse online will seek people who are under the authority of church leadership which will steer them in the right direction.
“I just think what to look for in a spouse; they belong to a church that they’re under the authority of leadership there, they’re contributing there, serving there, that God has their heart, they’re radically pursuing Christ fully submitted to God,” he said. “That’s, I hope, going to get you that end goal where you’re married to someone radically committed to Christ fully submitted to God.”